


Forgiveness is a Game

by Our_Hearts_Are_Compatible



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Developing Friendships, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Frenemies, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Promise, Rating May Change, leo has no clue what he is doing, neither does niles, no beta reader we die like men, takumi is sorta a bitch but he gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 07:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16614797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Our_Hearts_Are_Compatible/pseuds/Our_Hearts_Are_Compatible
Summary: Leo couldn't complain about how high school was going; he was popular, smart, and his father was the principle.  He had his siblings in his corner and Corrin, too.  But then Odin came along, and now Leo's being forced to deal with Niles, and sorting out feelings for someone who tried to steal from you isn't the easiest.  He was Leo, though: youngest son of the 'scary' principal and arguably the smartest kid in the school; he couldn't afford to not try his hardest to be friendly.  Hecouldafford to turn it into a game however.  And a game is something he can win.--"He quickly found them of course, just like Odin had said that he would. He made his way to them and scanned the table for an open seat. He examined the sheepish gaze of Odin with confusion before scanning the table again and realizing why.The only open spot was directly next tohim.He forced a smile when he turned to stare at him and sat his things down. “I suppose we’re sitting together then, right, Niles?”"





	Forgiveness is a Game

As high school went, Leo supposed what he was experiencing wasn’t all that bad. His father was the principal, he’d known everyone he went to school with since he started here, he was arguably the most popular kid in his grade, and had the best grades of his entire year, too. Likewise, his older half-brother Xander and half-sister Camilla were just the same: popular, smart...just older than he was. The youngest of the siblings, his half-sister Elise had been a favorite of her grade since she started school and while she wasn’t as focused as Leo or Camilla or Xander, she had what must’ve been twice the confidence of them.

 

Corrin,--who his family had all but adopted when she’d transferred to Nohrian Preparatory School--was in his grade and had grading marks only second to his. She was just as popular as the four half-siblings themselves and currently, Leo was watching her campaign for class president. He couldn’t hear what she was saying but he could see from the way she gestured to her poster on the wall in front of the grand theatre doors that she was passionately trying to convince the theatre kids to vote for her. Again.

 

“Is she really at it again? How many times will she yammer at them before she realizes that they don’t care?” Leo tensed and rolled his eyes and the sound of Takumi’s voice. He sighed and shrugged, looking back at him. His hair was up in that ridiculous ponytail style again and the loosely worn uniform hung from his lanky form poorly. The proudly displayed bright red “Hoshidan High” pin sat on his chest. _Over where his heart would be if he had one_ … Leo thought to himself in curt annoyance; the pin contrasted tackily with the royal blue of the uniform and Leo fought the urge to cringe.

 

“Hello, Takumi,” he withheld a taunting tone and graced him with a smile.

 

He watched Takumi shake his head at Corrin when she looked over to them hopefully, a look that was quickly dashed and replaced with a dejected one. She shrugged and turned away from the kids and walked away from them, straight out of the building and avoiding Leo and Takumi altogether. Moments after she had left, Leo heard the faint grumble of “good” spill from Takumi’s lips and Leo fought back the urge to smack the boy upside the head. “Takumi, she’s your sister. Don’t try to dissuade her. She deserves our support,” he argued, though he knew it was pointless.

 

Takumi was bitter: Corrin had been given an opportunity to return to Hoshidan High and hadn’t accepted it, preferring to stay by the side of her friends from Nohrian Prep. She had her reasons, of course. She’d been living with the lot of them for the majority of her life- it was a boarding school and she’d made fast friends. She quickly got over her homesickness and eventually all but forgot her siblings at her old school. When they transferred to Nohrian Prep, however, she was caught in between the need to stay close to Leo and his family, as well as her friends and the need to reconnect to her siblings and the few people they had transferred in with.

 

“You only say that because you’re running with her. Of course, you’d want her to campaign as much as she could,” Takumi blathered on for some time before Leo grew tired of it and simply walked away without a word. Voting was tomorrow, and Leo knew that they would win anyway.

 

He stepped out into the courtyard and took in the cool breeze mixed with the pleasant sight of leaves falling from their trees to rest on the ground. The ones that weren’t crushed beneath his feet swirled around them as he walked, just to fall a short way behind him. “Hey, Leo!” Elise’s cheerful voice filled his ears and he looked to where it came from to see her; short stature, bright pink eyes, long honey blonde locks, frilly pink uniform and all, beaming at him. “Homecoming court ballots are gonna be filled out todayyy~!” A warm smile spread across his face and he nodded knowingly. “It’s times like these where I wish I could vote for upperclassmen because I’d totally vote for you and Big Brother and Big Sister!” She hopped around excitedly from one foot to another before stopping abruptly. “Oh, and Corrin, too!” Leo chuckled at her antics and accepted a brief hug when she’d offered it.

 

“I’m honored, Elise. I’d vote for you, too. Something tells me that you won’t have a problem becoming a homecoming princess, though, so don’t worry.” He really hated the concept of homecoming, because that wasn’t really what it was. All of the school’s students lived there full-time after summer breaks, and some--like he and his siblings--were always there, and rarely ever left. This was their home for _at least_ the majority of the year, so what was the point of reminding them?

 

“D’aww, Leo, you mean it?”

 

“I mean it.”

 

“Gosh, you’re so nice! I love you so much!” She hugged him again and he hugged back until he heard the doors to the far side of the courtyard open up.

 

He pulled away and smiled once more. “I love you, too, Elise.” She all but skipped away and into the art wing, where he had come from. He looked after her as she left before swiveling around to face the footsteps that had begun to approach him. “Ah, Odin,” he tried his hardest to mask the disappointment in his voice. He had hoped to catch up with Xander before their short break was over, but after Takumi and Elise had taken up so much time, and Odin had suddenly shown up to speak with him? He’d never make it to the Fourth Year hall in time. “What a pleasant surprise.” He was sure he didn’t sound very enthused, but it seemingly didn’t faze Odin who snapped his fingers at him and shouted- an expression that Leo had come to realize was one if his strange ways of showing any variety of happy emotions.

 

“Just the guy I was looking for! We still on for lunch at my table later? Don’t wanna let us rejects down, right?” He cringed at the term ‘rejects’ and silently prayed that it was an exaggeration. In any case, Leo was rather glad that the strange mannerisms of the one, “Odin Dark” did not extend into his speech patterns, because if Leo were to be honest, the boy already gave him a headache.

 

“Oh.  O-of course we are. Who will be joining us, again?” Odin seemed strangely pleased when he heard that Leo hadn’t made any ‘more important plans’ and immediately began listing off the large group of people he supposedly shared a table with.

 

“Well, you and me, obviously. Then there’s Laslow and Peri, Beruka and Selena, Effie and Arthur, and uh, yeah. That’s all. Your siblings are friends with some of them right?” Leo’s eyes widened and he blinked rapidly a few times before nodding.

 

“I was...unaware that you were close with the six of them.” Odin laughed.

 

“Oh, I’m not! But I don’t really have any friends here and since Laslow, Selena, and I know each other from way back, they said that it would be cool if I ate with them a few times a week. Figured I would invite you because you’re in my year and since each of your siblings are close with some people in the group, maybe you and I could be? Oh! I forgot about Niles, too.”

 

_Niles…_

 

Leo let his face fall into a frown as the name rang a bell and vivid memories of a boy in his year trying to sneak into his room on the first night of the year to steal some of his belongings filled his head. He recalled that when he woke to the sight of it and threatened to have Niles expelled, the boy didn’t beg for Leo to forgive him and forget all that happened, he begged him to tell his father; he begged to be expelled. So Leo did just the opposite, and they never interacted again. He wasn’t sure he’d even seen him around the school in recent memory. _He must have been doing his best to avoid me,_ Leo thought, pleased that the boy had gotten the hint.

 

“Leo…? Is there a problem? I mentioned Niles and your face sorta went blank and then you frowned,” Odin waved a hand in front of Leo’s eyes, much to Leo’s own dismay.

 

“Yes, yes Odin I’m fine. I just…” he paused and sighed. “I’ve had a run in with Niles, in the past. It wasn’t pleasant,” he tried to sound vague but it wasn’t enough for Odin who’s eyes squinted and he hummed.

 

“I wonder what he could’ve done. He’s a bit wild but he-”

 

“He broke into my room while I was sleeping to steal my valuables, Odin. We aren’t on the best of terms,” he trailed off as Odin’s jaw dropped open in a way that Leo surely would have found somewhat comical if he hadn’t been talking about something so serious. “Not that we’ve spoken since it happened at the beginning of the term, but even still, it happened and I won’t forget it for quite some time.”

 

“ _You’re_ the one he stole from!? Damn, Leo, if I’d have known I’d have- you don’t have to sit with us,” Odin’s voice and expression seemed to take a turn and he swiveled on his heels to face away from him. “I’ll talk to you later, Leo. Sorry lunch didn’t work out this time. I’ll plan on no Niles next time.” He scuffed his heels on the ground and huffed a sigh, causing Leo to sigh in turn.

 

“Whenever did I say that I didn’t want to have lunch, Odin? Don’t act quite so despondent,” he wasn’t even sure if Odin knew what ‘despondent’ meant, but he seemed to perk up from the words Leo was offering him. “I’m sure Niles and I could tolerate each other’s existence long enough to eat and chat with mutual friends, don’t you?” Leo felt as if he was consoling a small child, and the payoff was quite the same when Odin turned sharply to face him again and plastered a smile to his face.

 

“Y-yeah! Yeah, I do! Thanks, Leo, I mean...I guess I’ll see you then. The main dining hall, in one of the corners-” he paused and tossed his hands up dismissively. “You won’t be able to miss us.”

 

“Right, thank you, Odin. See you in a couple hours, then,” his voice was soft and quickly trailed off as Odin darted away, haphazardly throwing a wave to Leo behind him. Leo was left somewhat baffled, but decided that it’d be simpler to let it go and head off to class.

 

He crunched through leaves before opening the door opposite to the one Odin had gone through, making his way through the packed First Year hall to skip up the staircase two steps at a time.

 

“Leo,” the voice was meek and trembling, but Leo could recognize it as Corrin’s from anywhere. He turned to see her following after him, her eyes puffy and red from crying and her nose somewhat runny from her incessant sniffling. “Leo, can we talk?”

 

Of course, Leo knew they had a class they needed to get to, but he was confident that if he simply explained to his father the problem, that if they skipped out just once...the logical side of his brain told him it was a poor decision, of course, and it quickly won over. “Could it wait? I really don’t think we should miss this particular lecture, and I’m sure that a distraction would make it easier to talk about later, right?”

 

It was rather obvious that Leo’s answer wasn’t the one Corrin was searching for, as she asked almost immediately after, “do you know if Xander has a class this period?” Leo sighed deeply and crossed his arms, but shook his head anyway. He knew that whatever Corrin missed in class today that he would help her catch up on, no matter why she wasn’t present. “G-great. Do you know where he might be?” She was almost whispering and he felt a pang of guilt coarse through him.

 

“The library: the one with the computer lab attached, not the old musty one I frequent. If not, I’m afraid you’ll have to sneak to his room in the boy’s dormitory hall,” he kept his voice flat and planned to walk away before furrowing his brow. “If this is about Takumi...don’t pay him any mind. Anyone could tell you that much.” She shot him a small smile and shook her head sadly.

 

“It’s more than just that, Leo,” she turned away from him entirely and began walking back down the stairs- likely heading to the library. He gaped at the fact that she walked away from him for a moment before hearing her voice, somewhat less meek that it had been when the conversation between them started, “so much more than just that.”

 

He frowned and continued his ascent the short ways he had to climb before the second floor was upon him. He turned to his left and came face to face with the man of the hour:

 

“Ah, Niles. Pardon me.”

 

“Of course.” It came from the other boy’s mouth as a purr and Leo shuddered.

 

Leo wondered if Niles had even bothered to remember his name and so he bitterly shoved past him, coming far too close the other boy for his comfort. Too close for Niles’ comfort as well, as he growled when Leo made the brief amount of contact. For some odd reason, the small assertion of power made Leo feel giddy, and he impulsively called over his shoulder before sliding through the open door of his Fine Literature + Ancient Scriptures class, “I’ll see you at lunch!”

 

He gazed over the room and realized that on top of being minutes late, he’d entirely interrupted the instructor. He met eyes with various students and seldom few of them looked happy that he’d taken up their precious class time with his childish antics. “I apologize. I was assisting Corrin and arrived late. I disrupted the flow of learning, and I’ll do my best to make sure that it never happens again.” He bowed his head sheepishly and quickly walked to his seat, setting his bag down and removing a thick text from it.

 

He opened to the specified page on the board and listened to the dull voice of his teacher who was attempting to “explain” and “simplify” a piece of old scripture he had read and entirely comprehended by the time he was thirteen. Somehow, though, people were still struggling and he tuned them out as he skimmed through the writing again and let his mind wander.

 

To Corrin, specifically. If he had known that it was going to be such a simple day, he would have obliged her request but- he hummed quietly to himself. He knew that she likely had found or was in the process of finding the support she needed from Xander: someone who was certainly much more open, kind, and warm than Leo himself.

 

“Hey, Leo!” There was a rushed whisper from behind him and he turned and saw Oboro. He groaned inwardly and mumbled a quiet ‘yes?’ noncommittally behind him. Whatever was so important to her, he refused to get into trouble again for _her_ , one of Takumi’s friends. “I’m really confused on one of the questions, and you’re obviously done as usual so could I sneak a peek at your work and copy some of it down?” Her voice was hopeful and Leo snorted quietly, before spinning around with a wicked look in his eyes.

 

“Oboro, I _don’t_ cheat. Not for you, Corrin, my siblings, or anyone else. I suggest you stop asking me if you can copy my things because my answer has and always will be ‘no’. It’s dishonest and against school rules and you’d do well to remember that,” he made sure he’d raised his voice enough to draw the attention of their teacher, who had moved over to stand behind Oboro, an accusatory glint in her eyes.

 

He smiled as he watched the teacher take Oboro outside and then turned and bowed cheekily at the applause from the other students in class: none of them liked her or Takumi, or their other friend Hinata, who most of them shared their Mathematics and Arithmetic class with.

 

The teacher returned without Oboro and she smiled at the class. “I’ve sent Miss Oboro to the Principal’s Office on grounds of her cheating on multiple cases. Know that this is the same punishment any of you could face if you happen to do the same.” The teacher then continued the lesson as if nothing had happened and Leo skimmed the pages once more to busy himself.

 

He’d only skimmed once or twice before the bell rang and he was able to collect his things and move onto his next class.

 

_Latin._

 

It was the one class he and Corrin had with Xander, on account of both of them starting Latin studies when they were much younger--Xander instead studied French--. He exited the room and made his way to and down the drab staircase without any interruptions this time and he crossed through the courtyard again to the upperclassmen halls, climbing _those_ stairs and crossing the hall to reach the classroom. He was one of the first people there, along with Ryoma--Corrin’s older brother, though you’d never know if you saw them together--and a few other Fourth Years he didn’t know the names of. He nodded at Ryoma kindly and took a seat toward the front of the room.

 

People began to file in steadily, but he didn’t see Corrin or Xander enter, nor did he find them appear suddenly in the seats next to him when he wasn’t paying attention. There was hardly any time before class was meant to start when Xander entered, arm gently resting around Corrin. She clung to him like as lifeline and while he expected them to join him in the seats on either side of him, they chose to sit alone in the very back with Corrin sliding her desk over to sit close to Xander and rest her head on his shoulder.

 

He felt a prickling sensation in his chest but quickly staved it off when he saw Ryoma move to sit beside him in the corner of his vision. They smiled at each other a moment before Ryoma gestured to Xander and Corrin in the back with his head. “What’s wrong with Corrin? Did something happen to her? Why didn’t she come to me…?” Leo frowned at how upset Ryoma seemed about it.

 

“It just happened before last period and she asked if Xander had a free, not you, sorry. She might not have wanted to speak with you about it, anyway,” he contemplated telling Ryoma about his younger brother’s less than stellar behaviour and decided to do so. He deserved to know if his brother was misbehaving, after all. “Takumi hasn’t been treating Corrin very well, and I know that was at least a part of her problem. I turned down her request to skip out on a class to talk with her about it and then she refused to tell me a thing besides,” his response didn’t seem to be enough for Ryoma but just as he opened his mouth to speak, it was time for class to begin.

 

Much of the Latin IV class was applied speaking of the language and projects, but today happened to be one of the few and blessed days where all they were expected to do was read. Leo sped through the reading without much difficulty and turned back to see that Corrin and Xander had done the same. Corrin’s head was down to her paper, and she was scribbling her answers furiously, while Xander tiredly gazed off into the distance and carded a hand through his hair.

 

He looked toward Leo and they locked eyes, sharing a small smile that turned sad when both glanced over at Corrin. Leo looked over to Ryoma and the back to Xander and gave him a facial expression that read ‘what happened?’ and Xander just shrugged solemnly and shook his head. Leo nodded and slowly turned back to face front and quickly set to work on his questions for the reading.

 

The questions weren’t particularly deep or meant for critical thinking purposes, but there were quite a few and Leo had a bit of trouble finishing all of them before class ended. He managed to, however, and once the bell rang, he stood quickly and made to walk back to Corrin and Xander, but they had already left- slipped past him through the door when he’d not been paying attention. He scowled and grumbled nonsensically before slinging his bag over his shoulder. He smiled at Ryoma briefly before turning and making for the door.

 

Once he was out of the room he planned to head to the old library but one he had made it to the courtyard he remembered his obligation.

 

Lunch. Odin. His siblings’ closest friends. _Niles_.

 

He rolled his eyes and turned abruptly, heading through the double doors that lead into the main dining hall. He had food in his bag that he had prepared the night before and so he ignored the lunch line, instead making a conscious effort to search the corners of the hall for his temporary tablemates.

 

He quickly found them of course, just like Odin had said that he would. He made his way to them and scanned the table for an open seat. He examined the sheepish gaze of Odin with confusion before scanning the table again and realizing why.

 

The only open spot was directly next to _him_.

 

He forced a smile when he turned to stare at him and sat his things down. “I suppose we’re sitting together then, right, Niles?” 


End file.
